The present invention relates to a device for mounting a rail adapted to hang exhibits.
For hanging a great number of various kinds of exhibits (e.g. paintings), a known arrangement comprises a suspension rail secured to the upper part of a wall near the ceiling and hooks slidably mounted in the rail from which the exhibits are hung.
If the suspension rail is secured to the wall before the wall is finished, no problems would occur. However, it is difficult to mount the rail to the wall if the wall is already finished, and in a way in which good finish work of the wall can be maintained. In order to overcome such difficulties, a device was proposed by the applicant in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 60-139079 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62-46057). An arrangement for hanging exhibits disclosed in this application includes a device for mounting a rail comprising, as shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular base plate 30 having a uniform thickness and a supporting projection 31 having the form of a square tube provided on the front surface of the base plate 30. The base plate is provided with mounting holes 33 at both sides of the projection 31. The supporting projection is provided on its top and bottom surfaces with longitudinally extending ribs 32, 32'. A plurality of such rail fixing members are mounted to the wall at predetermined intervals. The suspension rail is then fitted on the supporting projections 31 so as to engage the ribs 32, 32'.
The rail fixing members in the prior art arrangement constitute a convenient means for securing a suspension rail to an existing wall. But there are the following problems.
When the rail fixing member is secured to the wall by means of screws which are screwed into the wall through the mounting holes 33, it is necessary to use tools at a high location near the ceiling. Thus the tools or a workman's hands are likely to touch the ceiling, making the mounting difficult. Furthermore, although the rail fixing member is made of plastic, some plastic materials are too stiff to be deformed and fitted into the rail.